Chapter 4 #2
but the interior has been closed for a while because it needs some repairs. Plus the light hasn’t worked for years.”
“That’s a shame. It’s such a gorgeous lighthouse. I tried to get some photos of it, but the fence was in the way. Seems like
such an integral part of this town.” Kaiah nodded toward a banner. “I saw that sign for the Coral Cove Spring Festival. When
is it?”
His mouth sagged downward. “In a couple of weeks, but Becks wants to talk to me about it. There are budget issues, and it
might be canceled. But we really need the festival to help raise funds for the elementary school.”
“Are you replacing the school?”
He shook his head. “There was a fire.”
“Oh no,” Kaiah exclaimed. “Was everyone okay?”
“Yeah. Thankfully, it was during Christmas break last year.”
“Did you fight that fire?”
He nodded. “It was caused by faulty wiring and did a lot of damage in one wing of the school. The school board didn’t budget
for such a huge expense this year, and the town hasn’t raised enough money to fix that wing, so the classes are doubled up
right now. Plus the media center and the gym were also damaged, so we need to get those repaired too. We’d hoped that the
festival would help raise the money, but last year the new mayor slashed the budget and gave the money to other projects.
She just didn’t know how much we’d need this festival.”
“That’s a shame.”
A comfortable silence settled between them as they looked out toward the beach where Piper and Megan were digging in the sand.
Taking in Kaiah’s profile as she gazed at the water, Reid felt the urge to know more about her. “What was it like growing
up as the middle of five girls?”
Kaiah chuckled. “Noisy. Do you and Becca have any other siblings?”
“Nope.” He shook his head. “It’s just Becks and me.”
She leaned on the arm of the bench. “Our house was chaotic. Someone was always running to dance class, cheerleading, sports
games, things like that. My sisters and I bickered a lot, but we had fun too.” She paused, and her expression dimmed slightly.
“At least, we had a lot of fun when we were younger . . .” Her voice trailed off, and she turned toward the lighthouse.
Silence stretched between them, punctuated by the sound of the waves crashing against the shore and children laughing and
playing on the beach.
Reid longed to know what was on her mind. He cleared his throat and tilted his head. “Five girls . . . whew.”
“Yeah.” She angled her body toward his, and her warm expression sent relief filtering through him.
He shook his head. “I can’t imagine. Are you close to your sisters?”
“Um . . . well, my older sisters moved away. One went to Ohio and the other is in California. My youngest sister is out in
Arizona. She lives near our dad.” She fiddled with the hem of her shirt. “I’m close to my one sister. She’s only fourteen
months younger than me. We talk just about every day.”
“What’s her name?”
“Kamryn.”
Reid grinned. “Kaiah and Kamryn?”
“Oh, you haven’t heard all of the names.”
He shifted toward her. “I’m listening.”
“My parents, Kristin and Kenneth, had . . . Are you ready for this?” she asked, and he nodded. Then she counted the names
off on her fingers. “Kendra, Krystal, Kaiah, Kamryn, and Kimberly—all names beginning with K.” She giggled, and a thousand butterflies fluttered in his stomach. He relished the sound of her laugh and wanted to hear
it more often.
He rubbed his chin. “All K’s, huh?” he asked.
“Yup.”
“Like that famous family that’s always in the gossip magazines Mom and Becca read.”
“Right, but without the money, California mansions, or drama.”
They both laughed, and he enjoyed the easy banter between them.
As she tossed her hair, he caught the scent of her flowery shampoo and his heartbeat began ratcheting up. “You mentioned that you have nieces and a nephew. Do their names also begin with K?”
“No, thank goodness,” she exclaimed with another giggle. “Kendra has Emilia and Jason, and then Krystal has Alyssa and Erin.”
She paused, and when her smile faded, he realized he’d been staring at her, lost in her ocean-blue eyes. She gave him a shy
smile and tucked a lock of her thick blonde hair behind her ear. “I got the feeling you’re close to Becca.” She made a face.
“Wait, should I call her Becca or Becks?”
“I call her Becks, but everyone else calls her Becca. I’ve been calling her Becks since we were kids.” He rested his arm on
the back of the bench. When his fingers accidentally brushed the back of her arm, he noticed she didn’t pull away. “We’re
close. Always have been.”
“That’s cool.”
He recalled how Kaiah’s expression had darkened for a fraction of a second the night before when she talked about her stepsiblings,
and curiosity nipped at him. “You mentioned that your father remarried.” He hesitated, but her expression remained serene.
“Are you close to your stepbrothers?”
“No.”
She turned her body away, giving her attention to the waves again.
He immediately regretted the question, and a knot of guilt formed in his gut. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable.”
“It’s okay.” She turned to face him, and when her smile returned, it didn’t quite reach her eyes.
“My mom passed away when I was eleven, and my dad remarried two years later. Her death was completely unexpected. She’d been living with A-fib and none of us knew it—sometimes it goes undetected.
She was fine one day and then . . . she was just gone.
Sudden heart attack. I felt like I’d woken up in a nightmare where my world had been completely detonated. ”
She moved her fingers along the edge of the bench. “Then my dad met someone, and within a year, they were married. I was still
grieving my mom, but I had no one to turn to. My older sisters were busy with high school and college. My stepbrothers were
strangers. I mean, my stepmom was okay, but . . .” She shrugged and wrapped her arms around her middle before she continued.
“She tried, but I was thirteen and I didn’t want another mom. I pushed her away while my youngest sister clung to her. So
Kam and I only had each other. We like to joke that we raised each other. I worked hard in school and managed to snag a journalism
scholarship. I went away to college and never looked back. My dad moved out to Arizona, and I guess he never looked back either.
I haven’t visited him in a couple of years.”
Reid swallowed back his frown. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to dredge all of that up for you.”
“It’s okay.” She turned toward him, and her expression softened as her hand brushed his, sending warmth racing up his arm.
“Honestly, I don’t talk about my family much, but it feels good to get that off my chest.”
He was honored that she trusted him with something so personal.
“Are you close to your folks?”
“Yeah.” He nodded. “They live in the house where I grew up, and I see them often.”
“That’s great.”
They sat in comfortable silence and looked out toward the waves again.
After several moments, he examined his watch. “I didn’t realize how late it was. If it’s okay, I need to stop at the grocery
store.”
“Sure. I need to get some stuff too.” She stood and shouldered her purse.
“I had so much fun today,” Piper announced as her dad parked his SUV in the driveway later that afternoon.
Kaiah rotated to face her little friend in the back seat. “I did too. Thank you for taking me to see your fun town.”
“You’re welcome.” Piper unbuckled her seat belt and pushed the door open.
Kaiah had not only enjoyed getting a tour of the town, but she cherished her talk with Reid on the boardwalk, where she’d
somehow managed to unload her feelings about her family. Opening up to Reid had felt natural, even though she’d only known
him for twenty-four hours. Was that because he was a stranger who didn’t know her past? She was sure she hadn’t felt that
comfortable so quickly with her ex. There was something about Reid that she couldn’t comprehend. It was as if she’d known
him for years. They seemed never to run out of things to talk about. Goodness, she’d even enjoyed something as mundane as
grocery shopping with him!
“Thanks for joining us.” Reid climbed out of the car, and Kaiah met him at the back hatch.
She gathered up her grocery bags while he lifted his. “I guess I’ll see you later.” When she turned, something buzzed past
her face, and she yelped while swatting it away.
“You okay?” Reid asked.
“Yeah.” She tried to smile, hoping Reid didn’t see her freaking out under the surface. “I think it was a bee or a wasp. I’m
super allergic to bees.”
“Oh.” His lips twitched.
“Sorry. Kam always says I overreact when I hear something buzz, but I can’t help it. I was stung by a bee when I was around
Piper’s age and had the worst reaction—lots of hives and I couldn’t breathe well. Then I was stung by a wasp in high school,
and it was so painful, plus my arm blew up like a balloon. So let’s just say the buzzing things and I just don’t mix.” She started across
the driveway toward the stairs leading to the apartment.
“Kaiah,” Reid called after her, and she spun to face him. “Supper with my family is at six. Join us.”
She was almost certain she saw hope in his eyes. “Thanks, but I don’t want to impo—”
“You’re not imposing.” He finished her sentence, holding up his hand. “I have plenty of burgers.”
“Yeah, Miss Kaiah. Have supper with us.” Piper clung to three grocery bags in her hands.
Kaiah was tempted, but she didn’t want to interfere with their family time. “I’m going to get started on my next article,
but I’m sure I’ll see you around tomorrow.”
Reid appeared disappointed, which she found fascinating. Perhaps he also felt a warm friendship growing between them. Such
a shame she would have to get back on the road as soon as Daisy was fixed. “If you change your mind, come on down and join
us,” he said.
“I will,” she promised.
“Bye, Miss Kaiah.” Piper flailed her arms around, jostling her grocery bags.
Kaiah waved and then scooted up the steps to her apartment. After putting her snacks in the cabinet and the six-pack of diet
soda in the refrigerator, she settled on the sofa with her computer.
She opened her laptop and she couldn’t stop herself from searching for information on Coral Cove. Soon she was reading about the history of the beautiful black-and-white lighthouse and surfing web pages displaying drawings of the ship that it saved.
As she settled back on the softa, she began to wonder if she should stop in Coral Cove on her way home and write a story about
this fascinating little place. She’d have to run that idea by her editor . . .